Hello to everyone. Brief summary: still married to my TBM husband. I've had a mostly peaceful adjustment the past 3 years since leaving the church of my heritage. My sibs, children, and their spouses are kind but ask no questions. Grandkids haven't noticed that I don't go to their church anymore.
We are going to leave UT for a warmer climate and visit UT family in the summer. We are looking at FL and S. Carolina where We have heard people are friendly. I feel ready to make new friends and create a new life. We've heard Goose Creek, SC is a good place to live and close to a major airport. I hope to make a few close friends, volunteer, and live a healing life. Anyone have experience with Florida and South Carolina?

Watch out for states with humid climates (such as Florida--awful), and even Washington D.C. Cloths mildew in their closets.

Good luck.

good thing you are white and delightsome.

"good thing you are white and delightsome."

FYI, 30% of South Carolina's population is African-American. They also have a governor of Indian descent and an African-American US senator.

About 17% of Florida's population is African-American, and about 20% are Hispanic.

Yup ... and minorities are blocked from voting.

"Yup ... and minorities are blocked from voting."

So, what you're telling us is, you're ignorant as well as bigoted.

A lot of people have this anachronistic view of the South like its still 1922 with race relationships... Things have changed. large southernen cities are more integrated than many cities in the North. Clay County, SW suburbs of Jacksonville which is very conservative, i think 67% vote for Trump, somewhere around 70% white, just elected an African American sheriff

Coming from out west you will find anywhwere in the South very humid. I live in Jacksonville FL and I like the humidity. Today the high temperature was 45... That is stay inside all day because its so cold weather.. Pretty funny for those of you from cold places.

FWIW i know 2 former LDS people who moved here from Utah. They like it here.. Not very many Mormons here but we do have quite a few fundamentalist Christians.

"A lot of people have this anachronistic view of the South like its still 1922 with race relationships... Things have changed. large southern cities are more integrated than many cities in the North."

You and I know that, but Dave has his own special view of the world. I doubt that Dave realizes that many southern cities now have majority black populations and political power. My hometown, Montgomery, now has 56% black and 37% black population, and has had black mayors and city councilors for years now. Hell, when George Wallace ran for governor the last time in 1983, he wouldn't have won without the black vote. So much for the idea that
"minorities are blocked from voting" in southern states.

JVN, I'm in Jax...steps from the beach. Love it and would live nowhere else!

To the OP: The South is the South is the South. I'm as Southern as they come. Most metro cities here are similar - integrated faaaaar more than our Northern neighbors. Mixed families and bi-racial children are as common as cheerios in a Mormon sacrament meeting. It's always amusing to me to get the perspective from Utah Mormons on how "we" live.

But the key thing about your search here OP, the KEY thing, is to focus on an individual Southern *BEACH* that you like, not the actual metro city!

Find your beach. Find your peace. Problem solved.

Good Luck!

;o)

Are you sure about that?
I'd prefer cultural mixes.

"Are you sure about that?
"I'd prefer cultural mixes."

Wherever she winds up, it can't help but be more "diverse" than 95%-white Utah.

Brays Island,SC is well planned community on Atlantic Intercosstal. In Florida Atlantic is densely populated. Lower Gulf Coast same. You may look st what is called the Forgotten Coast starting below Tallahassee headed west. St. George Island, Apalachicola towards Panama City. Less dense and less expensive with a winter of sorts....both Tallahassee and Gainesville are college towns and the latter more so. College entertainment, sports and travel to either Coast easily from Gainesville. Spent eight years there. Avoid the mouse factory in Orlando at all costs.

Gatorman
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12-3

These are very good suggestions. Thank you!

I am from Virginia. I would not recommend the south to a non-southerner. It is a very, very different culture from the mountain west or wherever you are from. Very passive aggressive. Some insults include "bless her heart" meaning she's too stupid, or ugly or inept to get anything right and also "you always look so nice in that dress" meaning "don't you have ANYTHING else to wear?"

It is also very humid and is very uncomfortable for 7 months a year unless you are in air conditioning.

I can't really address the culture of FL because it is full of transplants and not like the real south. However, there are many humid months in FL as well.

The weather is much milder than most of the country. It's also lush and green on the east coast and the Atlantic beach is beautiful.

CateS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Very passive aggressive.
> Some insults include "bless her heart" meaning
> she's too stupid, or ugly or inept to get anything
> right and also "you always look so nice in that
> dress" meaning "don't you have ANYTHING else to
> wear?"
>

LOL. I'm not a woman, but I'm sure someone must have thought of loudly replying "Oh thank you! Everybody always tells me that. I don't really dare to wear anything else anymore so I just bought me four more of these!"

And if a "cast member" at Disney tells you to "Have a magical day!" they really mean something else entirely

Florida has no State income tax. SC = 7%.
I like the Gulf side of FL. Tampa is a great city & has a large airport with direct flights to SLC. Both places have humidity levels much higher than Utah. That will take some adjustment but works wonders on your skin. Bugs and reptiles also are much different than Utah.

You should go spend at least a month there during their hottest most humid time and see how you deal with it. It's no small thing.

Also, don't forget hurricanes. They get more than their fair share. Tons of bugs.

"You should go spend at least a month there during their hottest most humid time and see how you deal with it."

Actually, I think two days in the summer there would tell her everything she needs to know. :-)

Years ago, we went to St. Augustine in August. We parked the car to get out and see the sights. As soon as we stepped out of the car, it was like stepping into a sauna. We didn't stay out very long.

We live in east TN, and we go visit relatives in south Alabama a few times a year. Our house is about 1000 feet above sea level. When we drive down into Alabama, we follow the Lookout Mountain ridge past Fort Payne and Gadsden. As you drive south from there and descend in elevation going towards Birmingham, the heat and humidity are markedly higher. Montgomery is only about 300 feet above sea level and is subtropical, so by the time we get there, the heat and humidity are even worse. So we would never want to live down there again. We love our mountain area.

"We've heard Goose Creek, SC is a good place to live and close to a major airport."

There are areas all over the south that have major airports, so I don't know why or how you chose that particular town. I lived my first 29 years in south Alabama, and the last 32 years in Knoxville, Tennessee. Most of my and my wife's relatives are in south Alabama or north Florida, but we would never live in either of those places again, primarily because of the climate. We go down to Montgomery every Easter for a family get-together, and it can be 85-90 degrees by 10 AM down there. Too hot for us.

My two cents' worth is: as other posters wrote, you might have problems with the deep south heat and humidity. If you wanna live near the coast, you might consider a little further north than the Charleston area, in NC or VA.

One reason we moved to TN was to escape the deep south humidity. East TN has four distinct seasons, with beautiful springs and autumns. At present, the weather is distinctly winter, what with 2" of snow on the ground and a low temp of 7 degrees last night.:-) But it will start warming up around mid-March, and before you know it, the redbuds, dogwoods, azaleas, etc., will be blooming. We also have the Great Smoky Mountains, with the tourist areas of Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Dollywood, Asheville, etc. Lots of tourism and hustle and bustle in our area.

Florida and SC aren't the only places in the south that have friendly people. That's generally true of just about the entire south. Millions of "yankees" are moving to the south, so just about anywhere you move to, you'll find a mix of people from all over. Some of our best friends are from Chicago and Long Island. The founder and admin of this BB is from Wisconsin, but he's lived near Chattanooga TN for almost 30 years.

Whenever people on this BB ask about good places to relocate in the south, I usually advise looking somewhere between about Nashville on the west, the Ohio state line on the north, Birmingham-Atlanta on the south, and Charlotte-Asheville on the east.

I also advise people to check into the employment and health care facility situations in their proposed locale. My wife and I are in our late 50s and early 60s, so we need to stay near medical facilities etc. We have the U. of TN hospital here.

If you have the time, I suggest that you check out homes for sale listings in Somerset, KY; Mount Airy, NC: and Franklin, NC. Those are nice cities. Use realtor.com.

randyj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
If you wanna live near the coast,
> you might consider a little further north than the
> Charleston area, in NC or VA.


Honestly, I don't think that's far enough north or west. I live in Richmond and the humidity is unbearable without AC for many months.

This fall I turned the AC off on labor day (because the temps had significantly fallen) and through the 3rd week of October, when I put my makeup on in the morning, I had to mop my face dry with kleenex before I put the powder.

Decided next year I'm just going to leave the AC on despite really not liking it.

"Honestly, I don't think that's far enough north or west. I live in Richmond and the humidity is unbearable without AC for many months."

I wouldn't live in that area either. I merely suggested that to the OP as an alternative to the SC low country. Personally, I wouldn't live anywhere outside of about a 200-mile radius of where I am in Knoxville. But the OP may want to live near the coast.

I lived in northern Ohio for 15 years. Pure hell imo.
Winter= incredible cold, snow, salted roads UGH. Salt destroys your shoes, carpets, cars, and sidewalks. Kills plants. Kids often had no school due to extreme cold. Too cold to wait for the bus.

Summer= still stuck indoors due to mosquitos, heat, humidity, and just pure misery. No relief at night. Turn the air up higher and don't go outside unless you want to be eaten alive. Think the woods offers some relief? Think again. Full of poison ivy. The air is blue with humidity all summer. Take a shower, get out and feel sweaty while trying to get dressed. Air conditioning is your only hope. You long to just take a big deep breath of clear fresh air without feeling like you're drowning.

If you're lucky, you'll have a couple of weeks in spring and fall that are nice. Don't get too comfortable though. This is also tornado time. Twice had tornado within a 1/4 mile from our house. A house two blocks from us got blown apart and landed in the nearby river.

Heat bills to the moon in winter, and that was in a brand new well insulated house. Also, to keep from getting nose bleeds from extreme dry air, must run a humidifier. And then, Air condition bills to the moon in summer. Add to that the constant running of a sump pump and dehumidifier to keep everything you own from turning to mold, including the house itself.

If you want to have a view of anything except a corn field or neighbors, you'll have to find an overpass that you can park on. Once you get there, nothing to see any way.

Two good things....Cardinals in the winter. Fireflies (bugs) in the summer. That's as good as it gets. Oh yeah, there are entire towns that don't have any mormons in them. I lived in one. That was kinda nice. Lots of Evangelicals though.

My daughter married a guy from Florida. In the last 2 years all of her husbands siblings, his parents, grand parents, several cousins and a set of aunt and uncle have all left Florida to live in the state of Washington. They've all lived their the majority of their lives. They were relived to get away from the heat and humidity.

I don't live in the snowbelt -- near enough to Lake Erie to feel her rath, so maybe that made all the difference.

I have beautiful countryside that surrounds me. A commute of 25 miles that takes me 20 minutes. I also ride my bicycle to work several times each summer.

My wife and I do tour bicycling and we've crossed Ohio north-to-south, south-to-north, east-to-west and a couple diagonals. The beauty and friendly Ohioains are wonderful.

We've also circumnavigated Lake Erie several times -- and I can say that of all the coastline of Lake Erie -- the Ohio portion SUCKS the most (so if you do live in the snowbelt you may have a point ;-) ).

Yep, spend at least a few weeks in FL or SC to see what's it like. Moving is a big deal and making the wrong choice is costly.

I go to South Florida about once a month for work. It is quite a bit different than northern Florida. There is a saying "the farther north you you in Florida the more South you get". Meaning that South Florida is more cosmopolitan and less steeped in Southern culture.

South Florida has some really nice areas. Generally the closer you are to the coast the nicer it is, but then it costs $$$. South Florida also has some really bad areas, so you have to be careful.

I know the area from Boca Raton to the Keys pretty well, so if you have specific questions let me know. Of course, going there for work and staying in a hotel is not the same as living there.

Oh yeah ... and June through October is oppressively humid. November - May is muy bueno. I'm going back the first week in February and it will be very, very nice compared to Utah.

N. Ga is nice

Since I live in north Georgia I would have to agree...I live near Dahlonega. Close enough to Atlanta but not too close. No great summer humidity and four seasons- football, basketball, baseball and growing season...

Gatorman
9-4
12-3

"Since I live in north Georgia I would have to agree...I live near Dahlonega."

How did I miss knowing that before now? I go through that area 4-5 times a year. I sell to Dahlonega General Store and Consolidated Gold Mine. I have other customers in Blairsville, Helen, Tiger, Dillard, etc.

You eat at the new Steak & Shake? :-)

"No great summer humidity and four seasons- football, basketball, baseball and growing season..."

You left out "spring football." :-)

Love Steak and Shake. Spent formative years in St.Lous eating at the one out on Lindberg near Crestwood Mall. Was lucky they were all over Florida, especially Gainesville, when I arrived in the 60's. Double cheese, ketchup and onions. I actually like the baked beans......

Gatorman
9-4
12-3

I predict purple and orange tonight....

Gatorman
9-4
12-3

You're near Dahlonega? I'd love to go up there. I hear very good things. I have a FB friend who lives in Blue Ridge, and I've often looked at property in Elijay. Beautiful areas up there. But then, it's still Georgia. Poor, backward, socially stunted Georgia.

"You're near Dahlonega? I'd love to go up there. I hear very good things. I have a FB friend who lives in Blue Ridge, and I've often looked at property in Elijay. Beautiful areas up there. But then, it's still Georgia. Poor, backward, socially stunted Georgia."

OMG, you were doing so well until those last two sentences. FYI, millions of "Yankees" are moving to Georgia and every other southern state. The vast majority of those I meet say that they like southern people better than those where they came from.

I didn't mean to offend. I came here so unwillingly, and it was such financial hardship for us. I was really beyond depression and had lapsed into hopelessness and despondency. I came once quite close to ending it all, but was pulled out of it by (believe it or not) something on NPR that really helped. Things slowly got better. I still blame it on Georgia, although Georgia itself is not the actual problem. And because I came here from the socially progressive state of Washington, and from the Pacific NW in general, my tendency is to view this awkwardly religious and socially conservative people as backward. Although I continue to speak English and use the US dollar, I am in another country that does not feel like home.

Having lived in Fort Walton Beach and Ocala, FL and now living in Enterprise, AL, I love visiting Florida, but not too sure if I would live there again. The taxes, higher cost of living, crime, traffic, etc. are much higher now that when I lived there. Whenever I return to Fort Walton Beach (my parents, younger brother, and I moved there in 1971,) it is now so developed and not the sweeter town and area I remember in my younger years. I love Enterprise because it's very middle class, not pretentious, and...it has PUBLIX! The greatest grocery store in the world!

Being in my early 60s, I much prefer a smaller town, not too far from a much larger city. I've thought of Branson, MO, Santa Claus, IN (closer to the Kentucky area I'm from,) LeGrande, OR (I love I-84 between Pendleton and Boise,) Tuscaloosa, AL (I'm an Alabama fan...ROLL TIDE,) and Auburn, AL. You might look at Gulf Shores-Baldwin County, Alabama as well. You can have Florida-like living for MUCH LESS. Birmingham has world-class medical care (UAB; Dr. Mickey Andrews for orthopedics, etc.)

You may want to search Where to Retire magazine to learn more about all kinds of places you can retire to. As an aside: If you do move to Florida, do not do so in July or August. The heat and humidity then are INTENSE (a couple I know moved from Orem to Tampa, Penske rental for a do-it-yourself move, and moved their furniture up three flights of stairs, to be near their son and grandkids. He doesn't miss the ice or snow on the roads.) Here in Enterprise, from mid-May to mid-September, it is HIGH, but the rest of the year is pretty nice. I love not worrying about ice or snow on the roads except occasionally here in LA (Lower Alabama.) As we say here, "We don't have white Christmases, we have wet Christmases." (It rains, rather than snows.) I do miss mountains, as I think Huntsville, AL would be a great place to be.

I've lived in three places in the Western US (Fountain Valley/Huntington Beach, CA; Bellevue/Renton, WA; and Provo/Salt Lake City, UT; graduated from the UofU in 1990.) I love the West, but since leaving MORMON, INC. in April 2006, I will likely remain here in RED STATE AMERICA!

I like the idea of a smaller town. Less crime. Reasonable cost of living. We plan to escape unpleasant, humid summers by staying with our daughter in UT June to August.
Finding the right place is quite a challenge. All suggestions are welcome.

I wouldn't move anywhere in the South without good air conditioning. You will need it.

My oldest sister (now deceased) and her family lived there for many years. He was an Army helicopter pilot stationed out of Fort Rucker. He was the bishop and later the SP back in the '70s and '80s. They raised their 8 kids there. When we lived in Montgomery, we visited them several times down there. My wife's people live in the Opp/Andalusia area. My wife was born in Valparaiso.

"Being in my early 60s, I much prefer a smaller town, not too far from a much larger city."

That's part of the attraction of most areas in the mid-south. I don't want to live in a metropolis. I like East TN/western NC because of the mountains, the four distinct seasons, the shorter summers and winters, and all of the tourism/recreational opportunities. The economy is also good, and there's a variety of factories, high-tech industry, tourism-based places, etc. to work at.

"As we say here, "We don't have white Christmases, we have wet Christmases."

My saying is "In Alabama, there are only two seasons of the year---hot and wet, and cold and wet."

"I do miss mountains, as I think Huntsville, AL would be a great place to be."

Huntsville's okay, but I also suggest north GA, East TN, or western NC.

Dear op, I have lived in SC my entire life. There is nothing in Goose Creek. I would recommend the capital city, Columbia.
CateS, "bless your heart" is not a derogatory term at all. It can mean that my sympathy goes out to you or in other cases a congratulatory term. It has nothing to do with insinuating that someone is stupid. You don't know what you're talking about. If you are not from here and don't live here, you don't have a dog in this race.

Aquarius:

I'm from the south. And your right "bless your heart" can be meant in a positive way.

She was just trying to be helpful, bless her heart :)

Look at the Clemson-Seneca-Walhalla area. Mountains, waterfalls and cooler temps in the summer.

Yeah, me. Florida is sinking, and flooding is always an issue. South Carolina is not sinking, but flooding in Columbia was a big tragedy a year ago. SC is beautiful, particularly in the mountains. Florida doesn't have the same natural beauty. Both states are socially backward. Although SC is majority African-American, it's oddly still run by whites due to some enduring Jim Crow.

But SC has a grand history. I have driven regularly through the interior to avoid I-95 on my way to Ft. Bragg. It's unbelievable the poverty that you see there, but interesting to see the once-wealthy and nobly rotting grandeur of old cotton towns, like Society Hill, where there are no supermarkets for miles, but where Dollar General and Family Dollar stand side by side next to the smoke and vaping shop.

If it were me, I'd just avoid the South in general, but if I had to choose between the two states, then definitely South Carolina.

I have lived in FL & SC, was in the Goose Creek ward, and I liked both places. Interesting times after Hurricane Hugo, but we survived it by evacuating early and stayed with friends in Macon.

Those that complain about the humidity, I think we had as many comfortable outside days as we have here in SE Idaho, they are just flipped as far as seasons. Here we stay in our heated houses all winter unless we are doing some winter activity. In SC we stayed in our houses with AC all summer unless we were going to the beach.

I have lived in Greenville, SC, South Florida (Ft. Lauderdale/Boca/Miami area) and North Florida.

I found the Upstate SC to be the most racist, homophobic, sexist, horrible environment I've ever lived in. Really great blues though, if you're into music. The Southern "friendliness" is often passive aggressive code for "Yankee Go Home." Coastal SC and Columbia are a little different, but I never lived there, so I'll have to stand by other people's comments on that.

Florida is like three different countries all rolled into one. Generally speaking, New Yorkers and New Englanders tend to move to the southeast coast and midwesterners (Ohio, Michigan, IL, WI, etc.) tend to move to the west coast (Tampa, Sarasota, Ft. Meyers). Southerners tend to move to the panhandle. So South Florida feels more New Yorky, while Tampa could feel just like Columbus, Ohio and Panama City feels like any other coastal Southern city. If you're looking for friendly, I'd avoid South Florida (West Palm, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami). It's very diverse, but so is the rest of Florida.

I echo the sentiment of staying away from Orlando. Unless you've been dreaming of working at Disney your whole life, it's just not worth it. North Florida and West Florida are diverse, midwestern- or Southern-friendly, and the weather is terrific if you're right on the coast. Summer is brutal and it's humid everywhere. I would think the dry climate of Utah would make for a very tough adjustment to Florida or even SC. Both places are swampy hot.

I'm from the South originally. I never found it all that humid or muggy or bug filled, then I met people from Utah, and than I moved to the Morridor.

I suppose to people who live in a desert where there is no water, the South is humid. People actually can live in the South if everything went to heck, and there's enough water for everyone to actually drink and take showers and not have to worry about whether they need to water their lawn. I never watered a lawn (EVER) when I lived in the South. It's stupid to do that there. Grass grows naturally, you have to mow it all the time.

If you move to Florida I would suggest finding a location around 30 to 40 miles away from the coast. The reason is that when the hurricanes come, they have what they call a hurricane line. Anyone close enough to the coast is told to evacuate. Anyone above the line does not need to (though prepare for flooding, high winds, and other such things that come with hurricanes. I can remember one time, we were above the I-10 line, but while we were there power went out for several days, and at one point there were three tornadoes visible).

Learn how to drive in the rain. Seriously. I think if they had rainstorms in the Morridor like they do in the South, half the people on the highway would end up dead within an hour.

Where I am from, Southern Baptists are the main religion (there may be more Southern Baptist churches then there are LDS churches in Utah). Some of their teachings do NOT look favorably upon Mormons (some of the older people really may think you are the spawn of hell if they find out you are Mormon...and anyone who moves from Utah is automatically seen as Mormon whether they are or are not). Football and Southern Baptists are the corner stones of religion (well, community at least). Florida, especially Southern Florida is different in that regard as you have far more diversity in culture, religion, and other aspects than the rest of the South.

In the Deep South, Northerners can be seen as the very epitome of hostile rude and inhumane individuals...but Mormons are seen as worse (believe it or not) in those groups. Westerners are seen as weird folks from California who love mohawks, rainbows, and doing strange things to deform their ears and wearing earings and plugs in their noses and anywhere else they can.

Imagine the conservative Mormons in Utah, and then multiply that by around 10 to see how some of the conservative communities act in the south.

The cities tend to be more liberal, but you'll still find many who are of that mindset.

True Southern Hospitality is wonderful. They'll be especially friendly, talkative, and considerate. They tend to drive slower in some instances, and be more polite in driving...enough to drive those from the North...or South Salt Lake and Provo...crazy.

I had heard about Mormon hospitality before I arrived in the Morridor...I was very disappointed. It has NOTHING on Southern Hospitality. Even if they hate your guts, normally they'll smile to your face and be polite. (however, southern gossip is FAR worse than anything else as well, they may be nice to your face, but get on their bad side and they'll tear you a new one behind your back).

Learn to love Sweet Tea and/or Iced Tea. They don't do justice to it in the West. If in Florida, get a water filter. Some parts have very sulfuric water which smells like rotten eggs.

I love the South, wish I was still there, but work brought me to the Morridor where I am now.

I do like the fact that there is (at least seemingly) adequate water in the South. I love the flora and fauna, and regularly forage for weird vines in the forest to turn into walking sticks--no vines in the West that I know of. I love the varieties of fauna, especially the reptiles. As for the people, I don't have much use for the white people, but find the African American people to be more helpful, more polite, better dressed, better looking, more fun, more interesting, more inclusive, and their traditional foods better. Just can't warm up to the white people. Please realize that I'm only speaking in gross generalizations. But they're not like westerners at all.

You nailed it, Betty!

Having lived in the NE for close to 30 years, I have zero desire to relocate to Florida to retire. This, despite my northern neighbors tend to do just that for the warmer climate.

It's too humid for my liking. I'm a western transplant to the northeast. So am planning to head westward when I take my leave of here for a warmer version of a retirement haven. Without the humidity. I've been to Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, and Georgia in the summer and in August. The humidity was sweltering.

However, the people were very friendly and went out of their way to be helpful in true southern hospitality fashion. (Not Virginia! Too many Mormons and of those too many spooks!)

I have live in SC, close to Charlotte NC, all of my life. Betty summed up our state fairly well. We do have humid summers and dry cool winters but our springs and falls are amazing.

I have never lived anywhere that had a significant winter, and don't think I'd do well there. So, Florida is wonderful for me. The weather is beautiful most of the year, and in the summer just be grateful for air conditioning. As for friendly people, I've found wonderful people wherever I've lived. I think it has more to do with who you are, and how you treat others. One thing I do want to say...having been LDS for 35 years, I would get so sick of people moving to my state and always comparing it unfavorably with Utah. That's not the recipe for getting along with your new neighbors. It's not bad to appreciate where you came from, but embrace your new home whole-heartedly.

Munchkin, I agree with you. Our new life will depend on what I make of it. I have lived in many places besides Utah which I didn't explain in my brief summary. Although a quiet person, I love people and hope to be a good neighbor.
Our reasons for changing climate include health reasons. I need to avoid very cold winters.
Thank you to all who replied with comments and suggestions.

Check out Landrum, SC. Highly rate schools near the North Carolina border and a good distance from any LDS Church.

http://cityoflandrumsc.com/

If I were you I'd seriously consider N. Carolina instead of S. Carolina, and here are the reasons,
1) in the summer it gets to 90F in the Appalachians, in S.kak it gets to over a 100F. Summers are beautiful in the blue ridge, lots of touristy places, Appalachian trail, artsy places. beautiful rivers as well.
2) To be blunt there are lots of Yankees settled there for better climate and from yankee-florida trying to escape the Cubans and Mexicans that have overrun Miami.
3) S. kak is flat and less to do.

I would like to add NC or Eastern TN as well. I spent 4 months working in SC. The heat and humidity in Florence SC nearly killed me. In addition, the sand fleas or other bugs were aggravating. Culturally Chattanooga and the surrounding area is catching up to other areas of the country. One of the largest job growth in the nation is occurring here. Evangelical religions are still a dominant force, but not like 30 years ago when we moved here.

Good luck in your search